1. Field of the Disclosure
The following is directed to a scintillation article, and particularly a scintillation article employing a particular detector housing and window construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radiation detector devices are used in a variety of industrial applications. Typically, radiation detectors include scintillators made of a material sensitive to a particular type of radiation. Scintillation detectors are useful for measuring certain types of particle emissions, such as gamma rays, neutrons, alpha particles, and beta particles emitted from different source materials. For example, certain materials such as sodium iodide are useful for detecting gamma rays. In response to particular types of incident radiation striking the scintillator, particular wavelengths of radiation are reemitted or fluoresced by the scintillator (i.e., radiation-induced scintillation light) and can be transmitted to a light-sensing device, such as a photomultiplier tube. The photomultiplier tube converts the light photons emitted from the crystal into electrical pulses. The electrical pulses are shaped and digitized by associated electronics and may be registered as counts that are transmitted to analyzing equipment.
Detector devices utilizing scintillation devices are used in a variety of applications, ranging from for example, medical imaging to well logging in the oil and gas industry, and even monitoring of background radiation levels. For applications where the scintillator is employed in more potentially hazardous environments, such as downhole measure-while-drilling (MWD) operations, the scintillator can be contained within a ruggedized housing. The scintillator housing can include a window at one end that allows the fluoresced light to pass from the housing to a light-sensing device such as a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The photomultiplier tube converts the fluoresced light emitted from the crystal into electrical pulses, which are shaped and digitized by associated electronics and may be registered as counts that are transmitted to analyzing equipment. Nonetheless, the industry continues to demand scintillation articles having improved durability and accuracy.